Shuttle changing loom



June 22, 1937. J. BUDZYNA SHUTTLE CHANGING LOOM Filed Feb. '12, 1937 R mm m B 0 z Mw\, A 5 J m M M w Patented June 22, 1937 PATENT OFFICE SHUTTLE CHANGING LOOM Walter J. Budzyna, East Douglas, Mass., assignor to Draper Corporation, Hopedale, Mass., a corporation of Maine Application February 12, 1937, Serial No. 125,475

Claims.

The present invention pertains to automatic shuttle changing looms and has more particular reference toshuttle boxes for such looms.

Looms of the type to which my invention per- 5 tains commonly include a lay having a shuttle box comprising a front box plate pivotally mounted for rising movement about a horizontal axis at the back of the lay and a back box plate pivotally mounted for rising movement about a horizontal axis at the front of the lay. As commonly constructed heretofore, the back box plate of such looms has been yieldingly held down by a spring and the front box plate has been held down by an arm of the supporting means for the back 5 box plate. Usually, such back box plate is raised mechanically to permit ejection of the shuttle rearwardly and the front box plate is raised by contact with a new shuttle being inserted into the shuttle box from the front thereof.

Looms constructed as just described have proven very satisfactory in operation except that at high speeds the exchange or transfer of shuttles is occasionally not completed successfully. I find that such occasional failure to properly complete the transferring operation will not occur if the box plates and their supporting means are made entirely separate and independent of each other and spring means are provided to yieldingly hold both box plates down while still permitting each box plate to move up and down independently of the other.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an automatic shuttle changing loom having a lay, a shuttle box comprising front and back box plates pivotally mounted as aforesaid, the box plates and their supporting means to be entirely separate and independent of each other, and a single spring connected to both box plates for yieldingly holding them down, whereby each such box plate shall be free to move independently of the other.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are accomplished in the construction illustrated on the accompanying drawing, of which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a part of a loom having the preferred embodiment of my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the same; and

Fig. 3 is an end view similar to Fig. 2 but illustrating the operation at the time of transferring or exchanging shuttles.

The loom shown on. the drawing has my novel shuttle box applied thereto, but is otherwise of conventional construction. Of the conventional 55 parts, the drawing shows a lay beam I mounted on swords, as 2, part of the warp threads W which are joined to the cloth 0, a stationary shuttle magazine 3 for carrying spare shuttles 4, a transferrer 5 for transferring a shuttle to the shuttle box on the lay, and a picker stick 6 carrying picker 1 for picking the active shuttle across the loom. The shuttle magazine, transferring mechanism and other parts may be the same as in patent to Lindsjo, No. 1,850,304, granted March 22, 1932, to which patent reference may be had for a more complete disclosure.

The shuttle box shown on the drawing includes a front box plate 8, a back box plate 9 and a fixed top plate IQ. The topplate 10 is fixed to the lay in the usual manner, while the front and back box plates are mounted so as to be movable substantially vertically, to permit the exchange of shuttles. To this end, the front box plate 8 is fixed to the forward ends of arms II which extend forwardly from a horizontal rod 12. The rod I2 extends parallel to the lay at the back thereof and is rotatably mounted in bearings on the lay. The rear ends of the arms H are fixed to the rod [2, whereby the front box plate is mounted for pivotal movement about the axis of the rod [2.

An arm [3 is pivotally mounted on a bolt 14 in a bracket l5, which bracket is supported on the fixed top plate l0. Another arm I6 is pivotally mounted on a stud IT in a bracket on the front of the lay. The back box plate 9 is mounted on the rearward free ends of the arms I3 and IS. The bolt 14 an-dstud H are in axial alignment and the axis thereof is positioned horizontally parallel to the lay at the front thereof. The back box plate is thus mounted for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis at the front of the lay. I

The mounting of the box plates as thus far described may be substantially as in patent to Brown, No. 2,061,828, granted Nov. 24, 1936, except that in the present construction the box plates and their supporting means are entirely free of each other, so that either box plate may be moved up and down independently of the other. The back box plate is raised mechanically, just prior to the transfer of shuttles, while the front box plate is raised by contact with the fresh shuttle being transferred to the shuttle box, as in the aforesaid Lindsjo and Brown patents.

In addition to eliminating the prior construction whereby the front box plate was held down by one of the supporting arms for the back box plate, I have provided a novel spring means for yieldingly holding both box plates down. To this 2. v end, the invention provides a spring so connected to both box plates as to yieldingly hold the box plates down while still permitting either box plate to move upwardly and downwardly independently of the other.

In the embodiment shown on the drawing, I

- employ a single coiled spring l8 which is a tension spring. The front endof the spring 18 is connected to the supporting arm 16 for the back box plate, as by being hooked over a pin IS on such arm. The rearward end of the spring I8 is connected to the supporting means for the back box plate, as by being hooked onto an end 20 on finger 2| which is fixed to the rod l2 and projects upwardly therefrom. The pin [9 and end 20 are positioned above the respective axes on which the box plates are pivoted, and the spring is under tension when the box plates are down in their lowermost positions as shown by Figs. 1 and 2.

i It will be apparent that the spring l8 will be stretched by upward movement of either or both box plates. and that the spring will therefore return the box plates downwardly after the transfer of shuttles has been effected. I have provided separate means on each of the box plate supporting means for limiting downward movement of the box plates by the spring l8. As shown, set-screws 22 in the arms II and a setscrew 23 in the arm l3 separately and directly engage the fixed top plate iil for thus limiting the movement of the box plates.

In the operation of the mechanism, the back box plate is moved upwardly in time to permit the exhaused shuttle 4 to be pushed rearwardly out of the shuttle box by a fresh shuttle d" as shown by Fig. 3. The back box plate, actuated by the spring l8, then moves downwardly behind the shuttle 4". The front box plate is moved upwardly by the shuttle 4" and is moved downwardly by the spring l8 just as soon as the shuttle reaches its position in the shuttle box. ,The construction, above described, is such that the box plates. move freely and promptly and in. proper relation to each other, whereby their action at the time of transfer is greatly improved.

Having fully disclosed the preferred embodiment of my invention, I claim:

1. In an automatic shuttle changing loom, a lay, a shuttle box comprising front and back box plates, means pivotally supporting said front box plate for movement about a horizontal axis at the back of the lay, means pivotally supporting said back box plate for movement about a horizontal axis at the front of the lay, said supporting means and box plates being entirely free and independent of each other, and a single spring connected to both said supporting means and acting to yieldingly hold both said box plates down.

2. In an automatic shuttle changing loom, a lay, a shuttle box comprising front and back box plates, means pivotally supporting said box plate for approximately vertical movement about a horizontal axis at the back of the lay, means pivotally supporting said back box plate for approximately vertical movement about a horizontal axis at the front of the lay, said supporting means and box plates being entirely free and independent of each other, and a coiled spring I having one of its ends connected toone of said supporting means and the other of its ends connected to the other of said supporting means and acting to yieldingly hold both said box plates down. 1

3. In an automatic shuttle changing loom, a lay, a shuttle box comprising front and back box plates, means pivotally supporting said front box plate for movement about a horizontal axis at the back of the lay, means pivotally supporting said back box plate for movement about a horizontal axis at the front of the lay, each of said box plates being freely movable independently of the other, and a coiled tension spring stretched between said supporting means and acting to yieldingly hold both said box plates down.

4. In an automatic shuttle changing loom, a lay, a shuttle comprising front and back box plates, means pivotally supporting said front box plate for approximately vertical movement about a horizontal axis at the back of the lay, means pivotally supporting said back box plate for approximately vertical movement about a horizontal axis at the front of the lay, each of said box plates being freely movable upwardly and downwardly independently of the other, and a coiled tension spring having one of its ends connected to: one of said supporting means and the other of its ends connected to the other of said supporting means, said spring acting on both said supporting means above the respective axis thereof to thereby yieldingly hold both said box plates down.

5. In an automatic shuttle changing loom, a lay, a shuttle box comprising movable front and back box plates and a fixed top plate, means pivotally supporting said front box plate for approximately vertical movement about a horizontal axis at the back of the lay, means pivotally supporting said back box plate for approximately vertical movement about a horizontal axis at the front of the lay, each of said box plates being freely movable upwardly and downwardly independently of the other, a coiled tension spring stretched between said supporting means and acting to yieldingly hold both said box plates down, and separate means on each of said supporting means engaging said fixed top plate for limiting movement of said box plates by said spring.

WALTER J. BUDZYNA. 

